The present invention resides in a method and arrangement for managing data, in particular, coordinate data which are determined with respect to a number of predetermined reference points in the form of data points with a spatial distribution around the respective reference point using at least one sensor arrangement such as a coordinate determination device and also in a computer program product comprising first program code sequences for receiving data, particularly coordinate data, which are determined, with respect to a number of reference points as data points with a spatial distribution around the respective reference points using at least one sensor arrangement such as a coordinate determination device for carrying out the method.
In many technical fields, it is difficult particularly with respect to the management of data, which are determined with a certain spatial distribution around reference points, to associate the data or, respectively, data points for evaluation purposes with respective reference point.
The invention is preferably used in connection with public mass transit systems, where today buses and trains are in communication via wireless data transmission directly with an operational control computer of a supervisory computer-controlled operating system. This supervisory computer ideally knows the locations of all vehicles, compares them with the desired locations and constantly performs a desired to actual location comparison so that, in case of malfunctions, corresponding computer-based measures for a rapid elimination of the malfunction can be performed. Objects of the computer-controlled guide system referred to above include locating the vehicles, determining and indicating the desired to actual position comparison, securing connections, providing dynamic passenger information in the vehicles and at the stops and protocolling and statistically evaluating the data. Herein the schedule and the routing network form the basis for the calculations referred to above.
The driving routes, the GPS coordinates of the stops and the travel times form the framework on which the travel schedule is based. But, in practice, the determination of those data is difficult and time consuming because of various external influences such as construction sites, detours or similar circumstances and also because of variable coordinates of the stops. Up to this date, these data are determined only manually at the various locations. To this end, for example, the various stops are visited with vehicles which are placed in service specifically for this purpose and, at each stop which represents a respective reference point for the data determination, corresponding data (coordinate data are determined). This requires additional personnel and equipment which both are quite expensive.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus of the type referred to earlier but wherein the management of data (collection and evaluation) can be performed with regard to certain reference points in a simple manner. The individual data points or, respectively, groups of data points should be clearly associated with the predetermined reference positions.